The New York Yankees hold the rights to the phrase “Evil Empire,” the nickname used by their detractors, and can prevent another company from registering the name as a trademark, a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office panel ruled recently.

In a Feb. 8 decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board held that Evil Enterprises Inc. couldn’t register a trademark on the phrase “Baseball’s Evil Empire” for use on apparel featuring the Yankees logo adorned with a devil and pitchfork.

I still don’t know why the Yankees take pride in this handle that Larry Lucchino pinned on them? Who wants to be “evil”?